Viral Infection: Influenza or Flu Essay

I have been a nurse for 23 years. I have given a lot of influenza

Influenza is an infectious illness that can be spread from one individual to the next. It can be transmitted by means of saliva, nasal secretions, feces and blood. It can also be spread by coming in contact with the virus on contaminated surfaces. Influenza is responsible for an average of 36,000 deaths and for more than 226,000 hospitalizations each year in the United States. (Davidson, 2007-2009, Davis, 2007).

Every year, millions of people start talking about the influenza virus and getting their vaccines as the flu season approaches, which starts around the October-November period and reaches its peak between December and March. Therefore, public health officials around the world- and in the U.S in particular- are constantly challenged by properly preparing for the annual influenza dilemma, given that this viruses, and other respiratory viruses, are a serious health threat to the U.S population and the world as a whole. Furthermore, what makes the influenza virus even more challenging to control is that it can mutate rapidly and reassort to form new strains, having the ability to reside in multiple animal hosts. In fact, many scientists and researchers have been doing in-depth intensive research so as to understand the mechanism behind this unique characteristic of the virus, try to find new ways to control it, and explore different areas of protection and vaccination.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “It's estimated that 90 percent of seasonal flu-related deaths and more than 60 percent of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations in the United States each year occur in people 65 years and older “ (2011).The CDC advises that the best way to prevent and control the spread of influenza each year is by the use of vaccinnations. In effort to control and prevent influenza epidemics, the CDC uses the epidemiological process to predict the strain of the virus that will be most relevant to the population and this data is used to formulate influenza vaccinations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011).

Influenza, also known as the flu, is a highly contagious viral disease that affects the upper respiratory tract. Flu season typically lasts between the months of October and April. Signs and symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, fatigue, runny nose, and headaches. Individuals that are at a high risk of getting the flu include: children under the age of two, persons 65 and older, pregnant women, and persons with a chronic illness. Environment factors can also increase the risk of contracting the flu. Complications can include pneumonia, ear and sinus infections, dehydration, or worsening of chronic medical conditions. The influenza virus could eventually lead to longer hospitalization or death if left untreated. According to the CDC, the best way to prevent the flu is by getting vaccinated each year. Compliance with the vaccination is also important in preventing the flu.

Influenza is a common illness in children. Seasonal influenza especially affects children in childcare and schools and school-age children facilitate the spread of influenza within schools, households, and communities. Influenza spreads mainly from droplets made when people sneeze, cough, or talk. Since droplets can travel 30 feet, all children in a classroom are potentially exposed. Influenza is highly contagious and can spread from person to person even before symptoms appear and can be contagious for a week after symptoms appear. Children are most vulnerable to infection and the hospitalization rate of influenza is highest in young children. Influenza outbreaks not only cause thousands of deaths, they lead to complications such as otitis media, sinusitis, and pneumonia. One study showed that influenza vaccination reduced children’s risk of

Influenza is responsible for hospitalizations and deaths in the United States. Prevention through vaccination is one way to circumvent illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths. Those persons who were more susceptible fall into the categories of 6 months to 4 years of age and 65 years and older. According to CDC (2013), the 2012-13 influenza season was characterized as a moderately severe season based on the surveillance data. Regardless of suggestions and encouragements of schools and places of employment for individuals to be vaccinated against the flu, fewer than half the persons in the United States each year are inoculated against this disease. Influenza vaccines are now widely used to reduce the burden of annual epidemics of influenza virus infections (Cowling, et al., 2016).

As painless as the flu may sound it can actually be quite deadly. 55,227 deaths result each year due to the flu. Influenza, otherwise known as the flu, is one of the leading causes for nosocomial diseases contracted in hospital rooms. When being admitted to the hospital with the flu, your body is already below the homeostatic norm and won’t be able to fight off other pathogens that are developed in the hospital sufficiently. The only proper way to shield yourself is to get the influenza vaccine through injection. Influenza is a lot more than perceived and can be more deadly than heard of. Getting a twenty dollar vaccine is significantly healthier and smarter than paying a twenty million dollar bill.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2013) national healthcare disparities report for 2010, influenza and pneumonia are ranked within the top ten major causes of death in the United States. The influenza viruses that will be discussed throughout this case study include the human influenza viruses: A and B. These viruses are responsible for seasonal epidemics during the fall and winter around the globe in temperate environments. Historically influenza outbreaks have had a seasonal distribution and characteristic time course although according to the CDC (2017) factors influencing the extent and severity of an outbreak are less clear. Generally, there are two or three different influenza strains typically circulating concurrently in any given

Influenza, an innocent little virus that annually comes and goes, has always been a part of people’s lives. Knowing this, one would not believe that it has caused not one, not two, but three pandemics and is on its way to causing a fourth! The Spanish flu of 1918, the Asian flu of 1957, and the Hong Kong

Seasonal influenza commonly referred to as the “flu” is an acute viral infection caused by the influenza virus that can have possibly devastating effects on a community (“Influenza (Seasonal),” 2014). Seasonal influenza viruses cause annual epidemics that peak during the winter but can begin as early as late fall and last through early spring (“Prevention and Control of Influenza,” 2008). Influenza infections in the US affect a large amount of the US population. On average in the United States 200,000 people are hospitalized due to influenza infections (“Vaccine-Preventable Adult Diseases,” 2016). In addition, the annual death toll in the United States alone related to influenza and its complications is about 20,000 (Fallon, 2013). Though influenza can affect people at any age, the rates of serious illness and death are among the highest in persons aged sixty-five or older (“Prevention and Control of Influenza,” 2008). The disproportionate effect of the influenza infection on older adults calls for public health interventions.

According to Healthy People 2020 a goal of theirs is to “increase immunization rates and reduce preventable infections.” The influenza virus is one of these preventable infections, which can cause serious harm to patients. The influenza virus is known as the “flu.” Everyone in his or her life has had some experience with the flu, whether that is himself or herself or a family member. What if there was a way to ensure people from contracting a strain of the influenza virus? Well, thanks to technology and medical research there is.

Influenza, also known as "the flu," is a virus that infects the respiratory tract. Although Influenza is not as severe as many viral infections it is almost the worst for viral infections of the respiratory tract. Typically, when someone is infected with influenza they experience fever (usually 100° to 103°F in adults, but even higher in children) and causes a cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and also headaches, muscle aches, and usually extreme tiredness. There are sometimes other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea but usually only in rare cases with young children. One other note: The term "Stomach flu" isn't really caused by the influenza virus.

“Influenza (Flu).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 31 July

Background & Audience Relevance: Influenza is an infection that can affect anyone around the world. Am quite sure almost everyone, if not all of us, have been infected with influenza at some point in our lives.